He gives a part-bow, silently apologizing for his moment of disrespect. "What must I do?"

"No ordinary Hag Witch could do such a delicate curse. But not all hags are ordinary. There are three Mother Hags I know of, the oldest and wisest of us, and I think any of them could - but approaching them is a delicate business, even for one of their sisters." She pauses, then continues, slightly hesitantly, "The closest is in the depths of the Dukhlys Forest, and with careful guidance and a token from me, you might find her."

"Do you think I should not?", he asks.

"Baba Ostankya is the most powerful Hag Witch we have ever had. But she is sometimes more spirit than woman. If you reach her alive and intact, and tell her why you wish the different curse, she will grant it without demanding of you a task, but..."

"...because reaching her is a trial itself. I have heard of her. I was never sure whether to believe the stories true."

"Many are. Some of the ones for small children... exaggerated. But if you seek her out, assuming her to be as your baba Varvara told you, you will not be greatly surprised. And if you turn back, I will give you the more ordinary curse, and take your 'eyes'."

"Should I seek out one of the other two, then?"

"To find Baba Niedzwenka is much simpler. North to Bolsagrad, then take passage down the Lynsk until you near Erengrad and see a witch's hut floating on the waves, on the river or in the bay. But Niedzwenka is old, older than Kislev, and though she protects her people and the Motherland, she does not like Gospodar. I do not know what trial she will set you, but it will not be an easy one, unless your tongue is silver and gold."

"Have I heard stories of her as well? The Sea Witch?"

"There is not truly a Sea Witch. But what truth there is in those stories, is Baba Niedzwenka. When she was much younger, she was much angrier, and she would still prefer that Erengrad was once again Novard, a pure Ungol city. But she is not so cruel or capricious as they say, nor does she have so little regard for the life of Gospodar. She would protect you from Za, though she might grumble like a dwarf all the while."

"Perhaps the third, then?"

"I should not have mentioned her."

"...If you are certain?"

She hmmphs. "Do not seek out Baba Osuleg. She could do it, yes, but... she took on a great duty. The warding of Troll Country against Za. But it has been a long duty, and the Za is subtle. She has avoided our councils for many years now and sent only messengers."

And so she is not trusted, and it is perhaps only a matter of time before the other hags decide she is tainted and must be purged as they do with tainted newborns.

"I understand. I will not look for Baba Osuleg."

"And where will you look?"

"I think... I trust my senses more than my tongue. So the forest. If you have guidance to give me, I will gratefully accept it."

"You should go to Sanyza, then east into the forest and along the Shoik. She will be to the north, in the hills, before the fork where the headwaters come down from the Ropsals and meet the Shoik flowing west from Moraveny. You cannot find the way yourself. I will give you a token, with a spirit who has visited her before. Do not try to speak with it. Merely let the horn guide you as you travel and hunt."

She pauses, and reaches to the wall beside her, where a forked fragment of deer's horn hangs, and takes it down in her hands. She also pulls out a leather bag from a pocket, and he can see that its lining is not leather, but something soft and inky-dark.

"And... how I let it guide me will make sense when I have it in hand?"

"Once the spirit is back in the woods, you will feel its push. The best time to seek Baba Ostankya's cottage is on the dark night of the white moon, in a month where the evil moon is dim. You must not tarry - it is nearly a month's journey to Sanyza and the Shoik, and the horn will not last forever before the spirit becomes restive. Keep the horn in its bag until the dark night comes this month, then withdraw it in the first light of Vsykoya on the evening her light returns, seven nights hence, to wake the spirit within. You will find the start of the path in daylight and wait outside; the horn will shake. Step carefully, for her traps are many, but with all your senses and the spirit's help, you may find her door, if you are lucky. If you must retreat, or are delayed, the second night of dark moon will also serve, but no more - you will never find the path by Vsykoya's light, not without training no hag will give you."

He nods, clearly trying to commit it all to memory.

"When you reach her door, knock twice with the horn. You have been a polite young man - continue to be so. State your request clearly. Tell her the horn came from me - she will know already, but say it true. Do not challenge her; do not request anything you do not need; if she offers you tea or food, refuse once, and accept only if she offers twice. If she tells you to refrain from something, no matter how small, do so. Be polite in bearing as well as in word; do not challenge her even as you challenged me when I questioned your reason for asking. If she chooses to demand further labor, do it without complaint, and question only what you must - do not ask its purpose. She will tell you where to sleep, and if not by her hearth, in your own tent outside - but do not wander. You may need to stay in her glade for as long as three days; prepare yourself accordingly."

"Will you remember?"

He begins to nod, pauses, looks down and away for a few moments. Then he raises his eyes again and nods properly. "I will. Will the horn guide me back out of her glade again?"

"No, it will remain there - this is the promise for which it provides you this service. When Vsykoya's light rises on the third night, it will break, and the spirit will be free. Or sooner, if Baba Ostankya wishes it. She will guide you away herself, whether or not you perceive her doing so."

She holds out the horn, which he can now 'see' has magic gathered around it, in a wispy shifting mess of 'color'.

He takes it, carefully and reverently.

"Thank you, Baba Sonya. Is there anything else I should know?"